In April-May (2009-10), the country's refined oil and milk import registered a huge jump of 358.7% and 243.1%, pushing the inbound shipment of sensitive items up by over 13% during the period.
According to official data, however, the imports of other sensitive items like spices, alcoholic beverages and automobiles dipped during the first two months of this fiscal.
According to media reports, imports of sensitive items are monitored by the government to see whether they are causing any adverse impact on domestic firms, particularly small and medium. At present, it constitutes 3.4% of the total import basket.
The overall import of sensitive items went up by 13.7% to Rs 6,948 crore from Rs 6,110 crore in the same period last year. The import of refined edible oil and milk and milk products was Rs 563.27 crore and Rs 31.87 crore in April-May, respectively, against Rs 122.79 crore and Rs 9.29 crore in the same period of the previous year.
Further, imports of tea and coffee in the period went up to Rs 27.27 crore from Rs 17.86 crore in the same duration last year. India's overall merchandise (finished products) imports during the first two months of the current fiscal, however, declined by 25.6% to Rs 1,57,514 crore from Rs 2,11,752 crore.
"The import of edible oil increased to Rs 3,023 crore during April-May from Rs 1,423 crore a year earlier. Imports of alcoholic beverages have dipped to Rs 29.28 crore during the first two months of this financial year from Rs 61.54 crore.
India imports sensitive items from countries like Indonesia, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil went up, while those from Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, the US, and Germany.
Source : Fnbnews.com